Jane Got a Gun
Don't Go! Jane's jaded misfire.
Calamitous cowgirl's last stand.
Bloody westerns. Interpret that how you wish: either way, there is a heck of a lot of them and they spill more blood than a black pudding factory. With The Magnificent Seven remake (due Autumn) coming hot on the heels of The Hateful Eight and The Revenant, and numerous other rootin’-tootin’-releases due this year, the genre is enjoying a resurgence. Why? A never-ending romantic affection for outlaws, poorly-drawn wanted posters, moustaches, those swingy little doors on the front of saloons, damsels in distress, epic shootouts and jolly, saucy, everyone’s-having-a-great-old-time brothels. Ah, yes: that wonderful time when men were murderous hicks and women were helpless strumpets. Yeehaw!
Jane Got a Gun trots into town with a script-flipping female lead in the saddle. Jane (Natalie Portman, Black Swan) is the wife of “Wanted: Dead or Alive” (tick) former outlaw (tick) turned good upstanding in-law, Bill Hammond (Noel Emmerich, Little Children). Following an altercation with his old gang, who are led by moustachioed (tick) John Bishop (Ewan McGregor, August: Osage County), he returns home “all shot up” to issue the mortal warning, “the Bishop Boys are coming”.
Jane Got a Gun trots into town with a script-flipping female lead in the saddle. Jane (Natalie Portman, Black Swan) is the wife of “Wanted: Dead or Alive” (tick) former outlaw (tick) turned good upstanding in-law, Bill Hammond (Noel Emmerich, Little Children). Following an altercation with his old gang, who are led by moustachioed (tick) John Bishop (Ewan McGregor, August: Osage County), he returns home “all shot up” to issue the mortal warning, “the Bishop Boys are coming”.
Having formerly been sold into prostitution (tick) by the gang before being rescued by Bill (tick), Jane has her own long-standing vendetta so refuses to run away to safety; instead seeking her long-awaited revenge. With Bill being a useless invalid and Jane a mere woman (tick), she pleads for the help of former fiancé and gun-for-hire, Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton, Black Mass). Together, they fortify Jane’s home, which gives the former lovers a convenient opportunity to slowly tiff their way through their respective grievances after years of exasperated estrangement and mushrooming misunderstandings. When the inevitable onslaught of bullets arrives (tick), the pair battle for their lives; outnumbered, but galvanised by their re-connection.
All of that points to Jane Got a Gun being a conventional western. This is frustrating in itself, but it is the mundane way that Jane’s Gun drags itself out of its lopsided holster, which takes it from being merely disappointing to flat and forgettable.
With a strong cast and director (Gavin O’Connor, Warrior), it could all have been so different. It initially purports to take aim at the misogyny, sexual abuse, objectification of women and male ego so typical of the genre (and life in general), but never pulls the trigger on any of them. Instead, Jane becomes an uninteresting half-character, with pallid reactions to a troubled history that should have empowered her with the retributive strength to become a total badass. In the end, it is Dan Frost who saves the day, while Jane runs around after two ungracious men who she fails to realise have been at the root of all her problems.
All of that points to Jane Got a Gun being a conventional western. This is frustrating in itself, but it is the mundane way that Jane’s Gun drags itself out of its lopsided holster, which takes it from being merely disappointing to flat and forgettable.
With a strong cast and director (Gavin O’Connor, Warrior), it could all have been so different. It initially purports to take aim at the misogyny, sexual abuse, objectification of women and male ego so typical of the genre (and life in general), but never pulls the trigger on any of them. Instead, Jane becomes an uninteresting half-character, with pallid reactions to a troubled history that should have empowered her with the retributive strength to become a total badass. In the end, it is Dan Frost who saves the day, while Jane runs around after two ungracious men who she fails to realise have been at the root of all her problems.
If Jane’s lack of impetus takes the sting out of the tale, Ewan McGregor’s soul-patch-sporting “villain” sends it between its legs. He is about as menacing as a 19th century haberdasher and pulls any sense of jeopardy apart at the seams. Even then, the impending final siege offers a possible reprieve, but it’s filmed with as much suspense and excitement as a horse’s whinny, and is over almost as quickly. There is still time, nonetheless, to give us a big reveal, but one that only makes the ending more simpering and soapy than it was already destined to be.
So don’t go. It’s a very different film from the thumping “woman scorned” vibe alleged by the trailer. Of its many deficiencies, its failure to fulfil its promise as a rare, female-led action drama is the most disappointing. To see how it should be done, stay at home and watch Kill Bill; or if you’re desperate for a Western, check out last year’s excellent Slow West, now available on Netflix.
So don’t go. It’s a very different film from the thumping “woman scorned” vibe alleged by the trailer. Of its many deficiencies, its failure to fulfil its promise as a rare, female-led action drama is the most disappointing. To see how it should be done, stay at home and watch Kill Bill; or if you’re desperate for a Western, check out last year’s excellent Slow West, now available on Netflix.
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